:00:00. > :00:00.heaviest rains in southern India for 100 years. Now, a full round-up of
:00:00. > :00:12.the days news at 10pm. Now, Newswatch.
:00:13. > :00:20.Hello and welcome. As British aircraft join the assault on targets
:00:21. > :00:24.in Syria, was there enough discussion of the rights and wrongs
:00:25. > :00:33.of military action or too much focus on splits in the Labour Party?
:00:34. > :00:36.The coverage seemed unbalanced, parochial, and lazy.
:00:37. > :00:45.And now the Prime Minister is calling them, is it time the BBC to?
:00:46. > :00:49.It was a solemn decision and one the entire nation was debating since the
:00:50. > :00:53.Paris terror attacks. After ten hours of impassioned debate in the
:00:54. > :00:57.House of Commons on Wednesday, the vote by MPs to back as strikes in
:00:58. > :01:05.Syria came while the BBC News at ten was on air.
:01:06. > :01:12.The ayes to the right, 397. The noes to the left, 223.
:01:13. > :01:16.The intensity of the debate was matched by viewers responses to the
:01:17. > :01:19.way it was reported. And Robinson was one who felt there was a bias in
:01:20. > :01:37.favour of taking military action. Over the days preceding the vote,
:01:38. > :01:41.divisions in labour were clear but was too much made of them are not
:01:42. > :01:47.enough of the arguments for and against war? Nicky Willis thought so
:01:48. > :01:51.and recorded her thoughts. I have never felt motivated to contact you
:01:52. > :01:57.before, or though not always happy with coverage but in the week up to
:01:58. > :02:01.S strikes in Syria, I was increasingly frustrated by the
:02:02. > :02:06.coverage I saw when I switched on the news to see BBC journalists
:02:07. > :02:11.seemingly obsessed with potential splits in the Labour Party in the
:02:12. > :02:19.run-up to the vote rather than the key crucial questions that should be
:02:20. > :02:24.analysed and examined. As the Shadow Cabinet meets... There with scant
:02:25. > :02:28.coverage of underlying issues, the potential value or efficacy of
:02:29. > :02:34.military action or other possible causes of action to address the
:02:35. > :02:39.funding of Isil, its support and the political and diplomatic routes that
:02:40. > :02:43.might be followed. Tonight, Britain stands on the brink of military
:02:44. > :02:50.action in Syria, is it all down to splits in the Labour Party? The
:02:51. > :02:55.coverage seemed unbalanced, parochial, and lazy. Tending to
:02:56. > :03:00.reduce the issues down to a Punch and Judy style discussion of
:03:01. > :03:05.potential splits in the Labour Party and what they might mean. Come on,
:03:06. > :03:13.BBC. This isn't good enough. Another viewer got in touch was Richard. He
:03:14. > :03:16.is with me. You complained early in the week in the days leading up to
:03:17. > :03:24.the debate about the BBC coverage, what concerns you? I feel the focus
:03:25. > :03:29.wasn't enough on the case for and against and the analysis. It was too
:03:30. > :03:34.much party political splits which the journalists were assessed with
:03:35. > :03:38.at the expense of informing the public to enable the public to be
:03:39. > :03:44.engaged. They needed information early on. It wasn't until the last
:03:45. > :03:48.minute the coverage shifted towards looking at the arguments for and
:03:49. > :03:56.against. It was too little, too late. What coverage was there too
:03:57. > :03:59.much of? It seemed to be led by the political journalist rather than
:04:00. > :04:03.diplomatic or foreign affairs who could have taken a different slime.
:04:04. > :04:06.There was endless speculation about different factions of the party
:04:07. > :04:11.voting one way or the other. I am not saying it important, it is
:04:12. > :04:16.important to look at what parties say but it is not the main issue in
:04:17. > :04:21.the run-up to war and deciding to commit British lives to attacking
:04:22. > :04:29.another country. The families of the service personnel will be thinking,
:04:30. > :04:31.what is going on? We asked the BBC for someone to come on to discuss
:04:32. > :05:00.the issue but no one was available. They gave us a statement.
:05:01. > :05:09.Does that satisfy you? Not really. They missed the point. I am not
:05:10. > :05:12.accusing them of being biased, I have not reached a final decision on
:05:13. > :05:17.whether I think it is right and the BBC have not helped me decide. There
:05:18. > :05:22.was splits in other parties as well. It is a pre-existing accession
:05:23. > :05:27.of the BBC that they were following up on rather than taking a step
:05:28. > :05:32.back, an editorial decision to save the public need to be informed and
:05:33. > :05:36.what are the arguments for and against? Is there an argument with
:05:37. > :05:40.the way the BBC news agenda and others focuses on the Westminster
:05:41. > :05:45.village, you said it was political journalists bleeding the coverage.
:05:46. > :05:50.There was a point on Newsnight earlier in the week when the
:05:51. > :05:53.presenter said, the run-up to war has been overshadowed by the party
:05:54. > :06:00.Briscoe splits and I thought, in whose reality is that? Not in mine.
:06:01. > :06:10.It is happening in the media and Westminster. It was strange. Thank
:06:11. > :06:16.you so much. Who exactly is under attack in Syria? IS, Isil, so-called
:06:17. > :06:21.Islamic State, we have discussed before the question of which term
:06:22. > :06:25.the BBC should use but on Wednesday the Prime Minister set out a change
:06:26. > :06:30.of the government position. It is time to join our key ally France,
:06:31. > :06:34.the Arab league and other members of the international Trinity in using
:06:35. > :06:38.as frequently as possible the terminology Daesh rather than Isil
:06:39. > :06:42.because this evil death cult is neither a true representation of
:06:43. > :06:47.Islam nor is it a state. Following the announcement, the daily politics
:06:48. > :06:54.had a heated discussion about how to refer to militants in Syria and
:06:55. > :07:02.Iraqi. A Conservative MP agreed with David Cameron that Daesh is the best
:07:03. > :07:07.term. Daesh and Islamic State do mean the same thing, it was argued.
:07:08. > :07:13.We have a duty to use the right terminology. There was a problem, we
:07:14. > :07:17.need to address it. It is well-intentioned but the problem is
:07:18. > :07:24.what does Daesh mean? It means Islamic State. It is the same thing.
:07:25. > :07:31.No, it doesn't. You are telling us what we should do and you cannot
:07:32. > :07:36.decide what it means. Some feel it has pejorative connotations. It is
:07:37. > :07:44.an acronym. What does the deed stand for? It is a state. A fraught issue
:07:45. > :07:45.and some believe the BBC should change and clarify its policy on
:07:46. > :08:16.what to call the organisation. So, is the BBC going to follow David
:08:17. > :08:16.Cameron and change its stance? We asked that question and were
:08:17. > :09:44.told... Finally, moving away from the
:09:45. > :09:49.military action and return to Jeremy Corbyn, this was another week when
:09:50. > :09:53.he and his leadership were being put under particular scrutiny and last
:09:54. > :10:01.Saturday BBC news showed him being pursued down the street. Will you
:10:02. > :10:07.resign, Mr Corbyn? Good morning, I hope you are well. Is your position
:10:08. > :10:13.untenable? Good morning. Peter got in touch after seeing that and went
:10:14. > :10:17.into the Newcastle studio to give reaction. The clip showed Jeremy
:10:18. > :10:22.Corbyn walking down the street attempting to go about his normal
:10:23. > :10:26.life that he was harassed by a journalist and the BBC showed this.
:10:27. > :10:30.He was being asked if he would give Labour MPs a free vote on the
:10:31. > :10:36.extension of air strikes before official talks took place but also
:10:37. > :10:41.whether he would resign as leader of the Labour Party, six months after
:10:42. > :10:46.being given a huge mandate. For me, this is embarrassing tabloid
:10:47. > :10:56.journalism. I think it is beneath it. Will you allow a free vote on
:10:57. > :11:01.Syria? Is a 19-year-old student I think it is worrying because it puts
:11:02. > :11:06.other young people off getting into politics. To see a politician
:11:07. > :11:10.harassed in the way he was, I think the irony if someone like Jeremy
:11:11. > :11:17.Corbyn who has done so much to build momentum to engage in conversations
:11:18. > :11:21.with people in politics can have the reverse impact of that and put
:11:22. > :11:31.people off politics. It is wrong. Will you allow a free vote on Syria?
:11:32. > :11:36.I think MPs to a good job and they are well paid, relatively but we
:11:37. > :11:42.need to respect that they are humans and they live individual lives and
:11:43. > :11:46.in their downtime, walking to the shop or walking to his car, I think
:11:47. > :11:53.that should be allowed free from journalism. Thank you for that and
:11:54. > :12:04.all of your comments. You could also appear on the programme. Please get
:12:05. > :12:14.in touch with us... And look at our website. That is all from us. We are
:12:15. > :12:25.back to hear your thoughts about BBC News coverage next week. Goodbye.
:12:26. > :12:37.Coming up in Sportsday, FA Cup action. And a round-up of the action
:12:38. > :12:38.from snooker. There was a titanic struggle between two former